Hall cracks down on cell phones, vandalism

SPRING VALLEY — Hall High School is joining a growing trend toward cracking down on cell phone abuse in the classroom.

At June 18’s school board meeting, board members approved a change in the student handbook requiring cell phones to be turned off and in the student’s locker from 7:55 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. Next year, use of “such objects is not permitted on campus during school hours whether it be talking, checking messages, text messaging, taking pictures, or as a calculator.”

The change will also give school personnel the right to access any material on a cell phone, including text messages, voice messages and pictures.

In the past, students were allowed to keep cell phones with them.

“Probably 90 percent of them weren’t off,” Dean of Students Gary Vicini told the board. “When it rings, the teacher has to address that, and it’s a disruption in the class.”

There is no reason for students to carry their phones, Vicini said.

“They say ‘What if my mom or dad have to get hold of me?’”, Vicini said. “We have procedures for that. They call the office.”

Board President Todd Fanning asked if the change will be enforced.

“It will be enforced as much as I can enforce it,” Vicini said. “I think the teachers will embrace this.”

The first offense will be a two-hour detention and confiscation of the phone. The phone will be returned to a parent at the end of the day. A second offense doubles the detention. A third offense results in a one-day detention.

Another change is the spray painting of school property is now included on the list of items described as “defacing school property.”

On Oct. 4, 2007, during the school’s homecoming festivities, two students sprayed green and white paint on the outside of the building. No charges were filed against the students. Superintendent Mike Struna said the issue was handled as a student disciplinary issue.

Any student who willfully defaces school property will be subject to a minimum of four hours of detention for a first offense. A repeated action during the school year would result in no less that a three-day out of school suspension.